the name is how our middle daughter used to introduce me to some of her friends (sad but true!)

Saturday, July 25, 2015

still 7 weeks to go before the labour party gets a new leader…

At the
end of a week that saw much Labour Party embarrassment over the welfare vote,
it’s been fascinating reading some of the newspaper comment regarding the
Labour leadership contest (which is still 7 weeks away!).

Some 55,000 new people have signed up to Labour since
its crushing election defeat in May. A third of them are under 30
and their most common age is 18. They seem to be flocking to Jeremy
Corbyn.

These are just a few things I’ve
picked up during the course of the past couple of days regarding Jeremy Corbyn
and the contest:

The
'left-wing' policies of Jeremy Corbyn the public actually agrees with (The
Independent: 25 July 2015):

1.The public
overwhelmingly backs renationalising the railways

2.There's a
public appetite for a 75% top rate of tax on incomes over £1m

3.Two thirds of
Brits want to see an international convention on banning nuclear weapons

4.Six out of
ten people want to see rents controls on landlords

5.The public
support a mandatory living wage

6.Jeremy Corbyn
wants to cut tuition fees and so does the public

7.The public
were on the same side as Jeremy Corbyn in Iraq War debate

8.The public
were also in sync with Corbyn when it came to bombing Syria

Andrew Grice, The Independent (24
July):“If Labour
members want to be part of a pressure group, railing impotently against the
nasty Tories for the next 20 years, they should vote for Mr Corbyn. If
they want to change the country, they should back someone else.”

Robin Lustig, Huffington Post (24
July 2015): “Here's
what I think Labour party members want: a party that speaks up for those who
have least and need most; that develops policies to distribute the nation's
wealth more fairly; and that believes everyone deserves an equal chance to make
the most of what life offers... And here's the central dilemma: for reasons
that many party activists struggle to comprehend, not enough voters seem to
agree with them (a) that these are laudable objectives, or (b) that voting for
the Labour party is the best way to achieve them... There's an uncomfortable,
but unavoidable, truth in all democracies: however high-minded your goals, you
won't get a chance even to try to reach them unless you win an election. So all
those people you want to help will remain unhelped - until and unless you can
persuade enough people to vote for you…

After two
successive election failures, Labour is now in deep mourning. That's why it's
going through the five classic stages of grief: denial… anger… bargaining… depression…
and finally comes acceptance. And that's when it'll be time to elect a new
leader. Unfortunately, the timetable says different, so the new leader will be
elected less than mid-way through the grieving process. It's like asking
someone who's just been bereaved to choose a new partner within a week of the
funeral…”

Charlotte Church’s Blog
(24 July): “The inverse of Nigel Farage, he (Corbyn) appears to be a
cool-headed, honest, considerate man, one of the few modern politicians who
doesn't seem to have been trained in neuro-linguistic programming, unconflicted
in his political views, and abstemious in his daily life. He is one of the only
politicians of note that seems to truly recognise the dire inequality that
exists in this country today and actually have a problem with it. There is something
inherently virtuous about him, and that is a quality that can rally the support
of a lot of people, and most importantly, a lot of young people… What I can say
is that for the first time in my adult life there is a politician from a
mainstream party who shares my views and those of most people I know, and also
has a chance of actually doing something to create a shift in the paradigm,
from corporate puppetry to conscientious societal representation…The hysteria that has rendered certain
members of the Labour party catatonic, and has the right wing press rubbing its
hands together in glee, is ultimately based on nonsense. The fact is that this
election is not for the position of king of kings but for the leader of a party
of equals. No matter how far left Jeremy Corbyn is, if he is voted leader he
will have to represent a party that is jam packed with shy Tories and
Blairites. He would be dragged towards the centre ground anyway. But he would
have galvanised the support of many disparate factions of society, who didn't
vote in the general election, or who voted Ukip, or maybe even some of those
who voted Tory”.

Editorial,
Guardian (25 July):“Politics moves in cycles and some are
more vicious than others. A deadly one is the spiral into irrelevance after
defeat. The losing side is more interesting to its core voters than to the
mainstream of the electorate, which moves on…

All
candidates must turn their attention to more forward-looking alternatives. The
challenge for Mr Corbyn’s rivals is to match his crusading passion while
leading the debate back to a discussion of the country Labour would aspire to
lead in 2020. In that sense the defenders and critics of New Labour
are both right. The party needs a transition equal in scale to its 1990s
journey from opposition but very different in content. If it continues down the
current path of retrospection and introspection, Labour will face not just defeat
but obsolescence…”

Jonathan
Freedland, Guardian (25 July): “What’s
needed instead, one enthusiast for Corbyn told me, is “someone who can
articulate what you feel”. The key is “to have someone who represents what
you believe in. Why does it matter whether other people believe it or not?... All
this has consequences for those who would like to halt Corbyn’s march to the
leadership. It means they have to find a different way to talk to those drawn
to the rebel backbencher. Sounding like the grownups lecturing the kids won’t
do it. Hurling insults won’t help either. Nor will talk of electability, if
what’s at play here is a matter of identity. They’d be talking at cross
purposes. Instead, Labour’s pragmatists will somehow have to match the
excitement that’s been unleashed. The prospect of Labour’s first female leader
could be a starting point. Having the chance to oust the Tories before today’s
20-year-olds turn 40 might be another. But ultimately those unwilling to face a
lifetime of opposition will have to persuade their fellow party members that an
identity built on the purity of impotence is not much of an identity at all”.

James Walsh, Guardian (24 July):“Why
are Labour voters turning towards Jeremy Corbyn? Quotes
from some of the 2,500 replies sent to the Guardian on the leadership contest…
these are some of the views from people who plan to vote for Corbyn:

‘If it
makes Labour less likely to win then so be it’

‘He’s
no messiah. But he’s perhaps the start of a debate we need’

‘I do not
believe that Miliband dragged the party as far left as many would have us
believe’

‘Labour
has just decisively lost an election trying to copy the Conservatives’

‘Labour
have become like desperate sales people who will say anything’”.

Clearly, the Tories are really enjoying the leadership contest. No
doubt, they would love Corbyn to win… they’ll be able to re-use all their “Red
Ed” jibes and a few more besides (although I suspect that Corbyn, if elected
leader, would surprise them with the tenacity of his arguments) and, on current
form, they will have absolutely no worries regarding the other candidates – who
haven’t exactly shone thus far. I think this week’s poll suggesting that Corbyn
is now the clear favourite to be elected leader (but, after the general
election, who could possibly believe the polls?) will be a real wake-up call
for Kendall, Cooper and Burnham. Thus far, the other candidates seem to have
had very lack lustre (and rather mixed) messages for the Labour Party
electorate… they seem hell bent on being all things to all people - trying not
to offend potential supporters, but not actually appearing to have any clear vision
(or passion or understanding) for either the party or the country.

They’ve got seven weeks
to turn things around… and I’m not at all certain that they will.

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About Me

Married to Moira with three daughters (Ruth, Hannah and Alice) and six grandchildren (Ursula, Jemima, Rosa, Dan, Iris and Mikey). Former architect and also worked with young people in education in recent years... now just a retired slacker.